_________________“We will expect success in all endeavors and be prepared to assess and hold ourselves accountable when we aren't successful. Tulane is a top 40 academic institution and it should expect nothing less from its athletic department.”--Troy Dannen 11.5.16

Not to be a braggart, but a study reported on this past week comments that in terms of metro areas, the one in which I live, headed by Johnson City, Tennessee, is the most affordable for people earning in excess of $100K a year.

There has to be some redeeming quality to living here...

_________________What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

I knew real estate in New Orleans was high in the more desirable neighborhoods, but $220,000 for 975 square feet?

7 years ago I bought 1900 square feet in the then-iffie part of the Irish channel for 250---that was (still is) really stretching out budget. That would easily be worth double that now (probably more) if we simply finished the window/wall restoration (that we can't afford to do). That's what's happened to NOLA real estate that fast.

Central city is very iffie, but it's one of the last uptown areas that isn't crazy expensive. If I was buying now it's the only uptown neighborhood I'd even be able to consider. I think that's true for a lot of people. Considering that, I'd think prices will start skyrocketing in a hurry. For new renovation, well done, I'm not shocked at that price. And in 10 years it'll be worth more.

The vacation rental industry is one of the things pushing real estate up. And as it prices people out of one neighborhood, they move on to the next. Based on my in laws, all of this is hurting real estate value in the West Bank and in metairie (basically they are feeling that side of the bubble). But uptown is soaring.

To answer your direct question: no I wouldn't pay that for that. But I'm not shocked that someone will.

_________________“We will expect success in all endeavors and be prepared to assess and hold ourselves accountable when we aren't successful. Tulane is a top 40 academic institution and it should expect nothing less from its athletic department.”--Troy Dannen 11.5.16

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances.... Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right,

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

Absolutely. And the real estate corollary: it doesn't matter what you paid for a place last year, that you spent exhorbitant sums on your marble koi pond, and that your babies were brought home to your house. It's worth what someone else says it's worth.

When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances.... Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right,

When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances.... Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right,

*cough*cough*Atlanta*cough*cough*

Yeah, Atlanta, Houston ...

Madrid, too

_________________“We will expect success in all endeavors and be prepared to assess and hold ourselves accountable when we aren't successful. Tulane is a top 40 academic institution and it should expect nothing less from its athletic department.”--Troy Dannen 11.5.16

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

And zoning restrictions

What restrictions ?? Houston doesn't believe in them.

San Francisco and most other big cities do leading to an artificial supression of available affordable housing

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

And zoning restrictions

What restrictions ?? Houston doesn't believe in them.

San Francisco and most other big cities do leading to an artificial supression of available affordable housing

After my very first home where my next door neighbor turned his front yard into a junk car lot, I am very much in favor of zoning and HOA restrictions.

After my very first home where my next door neighbor turned his front yard into a junk car lot, I am very much in favor of zoning and HOA restrictions.

I came home from work shortly after buying my first house and my neighbor had three chickens clucking around his front yard. His small kids were outside running around with them. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal in some cases but we were in the middle of suburbia, on a pretty well traveled road, and their yard had no fences or barriers at all (anyone ever played "Crossy Road"? ). While I was standing there looking out the window, still mouth agape at the whole scene, a police cruiser pulled into their driveway and I saw the policeman speaking with the owner of the house (a Middle-Eastern man who did not speak very good English and presumably had no idea about zoning laws). I never saw the chickens again.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

And zoning restrictions

What restrictions ?? Houston doesn't believe in them.

San Francisco and most other big cities do leading to an artificial supression of available affordable housing

After my very first home where my next door neighbor turned his front yard into a junk car lot, I am very much in favor of zoning and HOA restrictions.

Um not really synonymous. For the record I plan to avoid HOAs if i possibly can when i buy a house.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

And zoning restrictions

What restrictions ?? Houston doesn't believe in them.

San Francisco and most other big cities do leading to an artificial supression of available affordable housing

After my very first home where my next door neighbor turned his front yard into a junk car lot, I am very much in favor of zoning and HOA restrictions.

Um not really synonymous. For the record I plan to avoid HOAs if i possibly can when i buy a house.

Your choice, of course. It's a balancing act. Lots of folks want to be able to do whatever they want on their property and think nothing of what effects it may have on nearby neighbors.

Right now I own both a condo in a 9 story building with 120 units in Center City Philadelphia, and a rural home on an acre adjacent to Assateague Island National Seashore. I served as VP of my condo's board and can tell you it's always 5% of the owners who cause 95% of the problems--the 'it doesn't apply to me' set. Anything from 120 dB sound systems at midnight rattling the walls, to glass bottles in the condo pool, to moving out in the middle of the night, to not cleaning up after your dog in a hallway, we've seen it all. We had to threaten to take an osteopathic MD (don't get me started) to court to prevent him from putting his first grader in the communal hot tub, even after showing him the accident reports of kids being disemboweled by the industrial strength floor drain suction. He knew better. Our insurance policy overruled.

In suburbia it's more about thinking about someone besides yourself. Sure, you can roast a goat in your front yard if you like but if you are mowing your lawn at 7am on a Sunday morning (true story), you are going to hear from me. It's like everything else in a civilized society: think about someone besides yourself, or else do a Ted Kucynski and live far far away so your peccadilloes don't impact others.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

And zoning restrictions

What restrictions ?? Houston doesn't believe in them.

San Francisco and most other big cities do leading to an artificial supression of available affordable housing

After my very first home where my next door neighbor turned his front yard into a junk car lot, I am very much in favor of zoning and HOA restrictions.

Um not really synonymous. For the record I plan to avoid HOAs if i possibly can when i buy a house.

Your choice, of course. It's a balancing act. Lots of folks want to be able to do whatever they want on their property and think nothing of what effects it may have on nearby neighbors.

Right now I own both a condo in a 9 story building with 120 units in Center City Philadelphia, and a rural home on an acre adjacent to Assateague Island National Seashore. I served as VP of my condo's board and can tell you it's always 5% of the owners who cause 95% of the problems--the 'it doesn't apply to me' set. Anything from 120 dB sound systems at midnight rattling the walls, to glass bottles in the condo pool, to moving out in the middle of the night, to not cleaning up after your dog in a hallway, we've seen it all. We had to threaten to take an osteopathic MD (don't get me started) to court to prevent him from putting his first grader in the communal hot tub, even after showing him the accident reports of kids being disemboweled by the industrial strength floor drain suction. He knew better. Our insurance policy overruled.

In suburbia it's more about thinking about someone besides yourself. Sure, you can roast a goat in your front yard if you like but if you are mowing your lawn at 7am on a Sunday morning (true story), you are going to hear from me. It's like everything else in a civilized society: think about someone besides yourself, or else do a Ted Kucynski and live far far away so your peccadilloes don't impact others.

Sometimes, it's just a matter of communication. When the sweet old lady who was my neighbor in Virginia for 10 years died, "Sandford & Son" moved in, along with their loud entertainment system. I politely discussed it with him, and assured him that I am a big believer in the freedom to do what he wanted with his property, but I explained what it was doing to me. Once he thought about the impact he was having on others, he cleaned up is lot and turned down his music, and we got along very well after that. If approached properly, I suspect that most people are willing to make some adjustments to stop negatively impacting others.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

And zoning restrictions

What restrictions ?? Houston doesn't believe in them.

San Francisco and most other big cities do leading to an artificial supression of available affordable housing

After my very first home where my next door neighbor turned his front yard into a junk car lot, I am very much in favor of zoning and HOA restrictions.

Um not really synonymous. For the record I plan to avoid HOAs if i possibly can when i buy a house.

Your choice, of course. It's a balancing act. Lots of folks want to be able to do whatever they want on their property and think nothing of what effects it may have on nearby neighbors.

Right now I own both a condo in a 9 story building with 120 units in Center City Philadelphia, and a rural home on an acre adjacent to Assateague Island National Seashore. I served as VP of my condo's board and can tell you it's always 5% of the owners who cause 95% of the problems--the 'it doesn't apply to me' set. Anything from 120 dB sound systems at midnight rattling the walls, to glass bottles in the condo pool, to moving out in the middle of the night, to not cleaning up after your dog in a hallway, we've seen it all. We had to threaten to take an osteopathic MD (don't get me started) to court to prevent him from putting his first grader in the communal hot tub, even after showing him the accident reports of kids being disemboweled by the industrial strength floor drain suction. He knew better. Our insurance policy overruled.

In suburbia it's more about thinking about someone besides yourself. Sure, you can roast a goat in your front yard if you like but if you are mowing your lawn at 7am on a Sunday morning (true story), you are going to hear from me. It's like everything else in a civilized society: think about someone besides yourself, or else do a Ted Kucynski and live far far away so your peccadilloes don't impact others.

Sometimes, it's just a matter of communication. When the sweet old lady who was my neighbor in Virginia for 10 years died, "Sandford & Son" moved in, along with their loud entertainment system. I politely discussed it with him, and assured him that I am a big believer in the freedom to do what he wanted with his property, but I explained what it was doing to me. Once he thought about the impact he was having on others, he cleaned up is lot and turned down his music, and we got along very well after that. If approached properly, I suspect that most people are willing to make some adjustments to stop negatively impacting others.

Well done, Roller. Diplomacy oftentimes works. It worked with a next door neighbor in my condo when I asked him to come into our condo when his flat screen movies were literally shaking the pictures on my wall askew so he could see it in action. Never had a problem again and we've actually become friends.

But there's usually that one guy, usually the self important smart guy, who requires expensive attorney involvement to recognize the right answer when shown. Thankfully, faux-MD sold and moved in a snit. I'm always amazed by folks who buy into a condo, or a co-op in NYC, or a neighborhood with an HOA, say they've read all the codicils, and then b!tch when they get called on their junk cars, stalag fences, and multiple aggressive pets.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

And zoning restrictions

What restrictions ?? Houston doesn't believe in them.

San Francisco and most other big cities do leading to an artificial supression of available affordable housing

After my very first home where my next door neighbor turned his front yard into a junk car lot, I am very much in favor of zoning and HOA restrictions.

Um not really synonymous. For the record I plan to avoid HOAs if i possibly can when i buy a house.

Your choice, of course. It's a balancing act. Lots of folks want to be able to do whatever they want on their property and think nothing of what effects it may have on nearby neighbors.

Right now I own both a condo in a 9 story building with 120 units in Center City Philadelphia, and a rural home on an acre adjacent to Assateague Island National Seashore. I served as VP of my condo's board and can tell you it's always 5% of the owners who cause 95% of the problems--the 'it doesn't apply to me' set. Anything from 120 dB sound systems at midnight rattling the walls, to glass bottles in the condo pool, to moving out in the middle of the night, to not cleaning up after your dog in a hallway, we've seen it all. We had to threaten to take an osteopathic MD (don't get me started) to court to prevent him from putting his first grader in the communal hot tub, even after showing him the accident reports of kids being disemboweled by the industrial strength floor drain suction. He knew better. Our insurance policy overruled.

In suburbia it's more about thinking about someone besides yourself. Sure, you can roast a goat in your front yard if you like but if you are mowing your lawn at 7am on a Sunday morning (true story), you are going to hear from me. It's like everything else in a civilized society: think about someone besides yourself, or else do a Ted Kucynski and live far far away so your peccadilloes don't impact others.

I don't have a degree in urban planning but have bought and sold a bunch of homes in many different locales in rural, suburban and major city locations, I think it follows a predictable pattern. Landlocked cities such as San Francisco run out of real estate space and prices are driven up into nosebleed region as long as it is a desirable place for some folks. When a city has a lot of room to expand and it is not hemmed in by natural barriers, it keeps spreading out in concentric circles to sometimes ridiculous distances (think people living in Fredericksburg, VA and commuting to DC). Eventually, like an expanding supernova, it reaches an unsustainable distance, people get fed up with the commutes even though houses are cheap, and either establish exurbs of their own right, or return to the city, especially as empty nesters. It's always a tradoff between bang for the buck and where people have to make a living. We all have seen ridiculously gorgeous homes and property but out in the middle of nowhere such that it only works if you are already wealthy or don't have to make big salaries.

So, the real estate axiom is true: what's the right price?...whatever a willing buyer is willing to pay. I would pay $300k for a nice 1 BR Philadelphia condo that for the same price would buy a near mansion in rural Texas or the scrubby interior of Florida...not that I would ever want to live in either place.

So,...supply and demand?

And zoning restrictions

What restrictions ?? Houston doesn't believe in them.

San Francisco and most other big cities do leading to an artificial supression of available affordable housing

After my very first home where my next door neighbor turned his front yard into a junk car lot, I am very much in favor of zoning and HOA restrictions.

Um not really synonymous. For the record I plan to avoid HOAs if i possibly can when i buy a house.

Your choice, of course. It's a balancing act. Lots of folks want to be able to do whatever they want on their property and think nothing of what effects it may have on nearby neighbors.

Right now I own both a condo in a 9 story building with 120 units in Center City Philadelphia, and a rural home on an acre adjacent to Assateague Island National Seashore. I served as VP of my condo's board and can tell you it's always 5% of the owners who cause 95% of the problems--the 'it doesn't apply to me' set. Anything from 120 dB sound systems at midnight rattling the walls, to glass bottles in the condo pool, to moving out in the middle of the night, to not cleaning up after your dog in a hallway, we've seen it all. We had to threaten to take an osteopathic MD (don't get me started) to court to prevent him from putting his first grader in the communal hot tub, even after showing him the accident reports of kids being disemboweled by the industrial strength floor drain suction. He knew better. Our insurance policy overruled.

In suburbia it's more about thinking about someone besides yourself. Sure, you can roast a goat in your front yard if you like but if you are mowing your lawn at 7am on a Sunday morning (true story), you are going to hear from me. It's like everything else in a civilized society: think about someone besides yourself, or else do a Ted Kucynski and live far far away so your peccadilloes don't impact others.

A condo is a different situation. HOA's that won't let you have playmobil houses in your backyard (though they can't be seen from the street or by your neighbors mind you), fine you is your garbage cans are out after 2PM (what if both people work) and dictate the company you MUST buy your mailbox from is what I'm talking about. Yep my co-worker lives in that development. Village ordinances would take care of your goat issue anyway.